Is a meditation method powerful only if one is initiated into it?

You have been explaining many meditation methods to us. However, isn't it true that no method can be all that powerful unless one is initiated into it?

That is why surrender is so much needed in initiation. Unless you surrender initiation cannot be given, because unless you surrender your conscious mind is always alert and on guard. When you surrender, your conscious mind can then be relieved of its duty and your unconscious mind can come directly in contact with the master. A right moment has to be chosen, and then you have to be prepared for initiation. It may take months to prepare you. There has to be the right food, the right sleep, and everything has to come to a tranquil point; only then can you be initiated, so initiation is a long process, an individual process. Unless someone is ready to surrender totally, initiation is not possible. So I am not initiating you into these methods, I am just making you acquainted with these methods. If someone feels that some method suits him deeply…

Osho, initiation holds a very important place in spiritual practice. Its special methods apply in special situations. Buddha and Mahavira also gave initiation. So please tell: what is the subtle meaning of initiation? How many kinds of initiation are possible? What is its significance and utility? And why is it necessary?

A monk came to me. He was initiated by someone; he said, “I am the initiate of such-and-such guru, and I have come to you to learn meditation.” I asked, “Then why did you take initiation? And if meditation has not come in initiation, what did you get in initiation? You got robes! You got a name! And if you still have to search for meditation, how did initiation happen?” Because the truth is that only after meditation can initiation be; after initiation, seeking meditation has no meaning. It is like a man saying, “I am healthy,” and roaming the doors of doctors saying he needs medicine. Initiation is the recognition that comes after meditation; it is the sanction that you have been accepted, acknowledged, that word of you has reached the Divine, that you have gained entry into that dimension—initiation is just this recognition. True initiation must be revived…

In spiritual quest, deeksha, initiation, holds a very important place. Its special ceremonies are carried out under special conditions. Buddha and mahavira used to give initiation. How many types of initiation are there? What is their significance and use and why are they needed?

A little talk on initiation will be useful. For one thing, deeksha, initiation, is never given; initiation takes place, it is a happening. For example, a person stays with Mahavira and it takes years for his initiation to take place. Mahavira tells him to stay, to be with him, to walk with him, to stand in such a way, to sit in such a way, to meditate such a way. Then a moment comes when the person is fully prepared. Then Mahavira is only the medium. Perhaps it is not proper even to say that he is the medium -- rather, in a very deep sense he remains only a witness and initiation takes place in front of him. Initiation is always from the divine, but it can happen in the presence of Mahavira. Now the person to whom it is happening sees Mahavira in front of him, but the…

Question: OSHO, WHAT IS INITIATION ACCORDING TO YOU? If this mind is there then you can't go beyond the stage of the student. To be a disciple you have to be ready -- knowingly, with your eyes open -- to step into the unknown, dropping all fear, because the Master is the most unknown and unknowable thing in existence. It is not his body, it is not his mind. It is his vibe, his presence -- not his person. And to enter into his presence you have to drop all your defense measures. That is initiation. It may take any formal structure. That is not essential; that is just to make it visible. You are given a red robe, a mala; they are not essential. They are just to make your initiation visible to others, because if it is visible to others they will remind you.

Beloved Osho, is it true that to be in communion with the master is the initiation?

But Ekalavya was made of a different kind of mettle than ordinary human beings are made of. He went into the forest and made a statue of Dronacharya. And just in front of the statue, he continued learning on his own. Soon the word started spreading all over the country that Ekalavya had become a master archer, just by the side of the statue of Dronacharya. Dronacharya had an ambition, and that ambition was that one prince who was his disciple, Arjuna -- and he was a great archer -- should become the greatest archer in the history of man. But this Ekalavya was disturbing everything, he was becoming more famous. Dronacharya went into the forest.... And this is the point to be noted -- that's why the dean of the faculty of arts had quoted the name of Ekalavya. He had been rejected by Dronacharya. Any ordinary human being…